Overview & Reviews

Acura is an upscale automaker known for offering cars with impressive levels of luxury, features and performance. It's come a long way in a short time, however, as the history of Acura is relatively brief. Parent company Honda introduced the Acura brand to the U.S. market in 1986 in an effort to create a separate luxury division for its products. At first, it was just a two-car show: the Legend sedan, which was the first true Japanese luxury car sold in America, and the Integra sport coupe and sedan.

Though essentially a marketing creation for the North American market, the Acura brand was immediately successful. Consumers liked the features, performance and upscale image of Acura cars, along with the fact that Acuras were backed by Honda's reputation for reliability and low ownership costs. In 1991, Acura introduced its crown jewel: the all-aluminum NSX sports car, which offered performance close to that of other exotic cars while undercutting them in price.

As Acura's product line grew in the 1990s, however, the company struggled a bit. Some of its products were duds, and it risked alienating loyal customers when it replaced the Legend and Integra names with alphanumeric designations. The company jumped on the hot luxury SUV bandwagon in the mid-'90s with the SLX. Unfortunately, the SLX was just a rebadged version of an Isuzu SUV, and its quality did not match customers' expectations.

For the new millennium, Acura revamped its product range. An all-new SUV called the MDX debuted, sporting numerous family-friendly features, including a third-row seat. The Integra was replaced with the RSX sport coupe, and an all-new entry-level sport sedan called the TSX was introduced after that. A complete redesign of its most popular model, the midsize TL sedan, followed, as did a redesign of its flagship RL luxury sedan.

By mid-decade the NSX was gone, but Acura filled out its model lineup with the street-performance-oriented RDX compact crossover, the TSX wagon and the ZDX, a fastback-styled crossover that placed unique styling over practicality. Today Acura is still trying to find its ideal niche but there's no denying the quality of Acura's vehicles, nor their appealing mix of performance, technology and value.

User Reviews:

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  2005 Acura RL - 2005 Acura RL
  By boston - January 6 - 1:43 pm

  Car has performed much better than expected in all categories. Dependability has been especially good.

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  Wow! - 2003 Acura CL
  By Steverino054 - January 6 - 10:00 am

  I was all primed up for an Audi TT and was waiting for my wife to get ready and go buy it. She was against the TT from the get go, and asked me to just try this car and she would shut up. Since the dealers were in close proximity-what could I lose? I never got to the Audi dealer. You are on the bridge of the Enterprise in this car. Everything is right at hand. No wind or engine noise at 90 mph and a solid road hugging ride.

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  Acura TL with Nav 6 Month Review - 2006 Acura TL
  By ahe68 - January 6 - 9:59 am

  Six months later I still love this car. For a 3.2 the car has ample power and maneuvering is perfect. Turning radius and steering are very good. The navigation in this vehicle is the best Ive seen on the market. Entering new addresses needs to be made easier, but it is not a big deal. The interior is laid out perfectly and I really like the blue backlit dash. The seats are firm but comfortable. Mechanically the car is perfect. You can tell the Acura is a quality build. I switched to Acura from two prevous Nissan Maximas. Qualitywise the Acura is far better than the Nissan. I believe the Acura is in need of a few new features which I have outlined below.

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  Should have bought it sooner - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Kathy - January 5 - 2:34 pm

  Exceptional comfortable riding car especially on the highways. It has so many goodies, nav. xm radio and the info it gives you (outside temp, mpg, miles to empty, average mph, etc). The 6 speed is great. Shifts very smoothly. Love the color - milano red with ebony int.

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  Love my TL!!!! - 2006 Acura TL
  By Angela - January 5 - 9:23 am

  I was looking for a nice plush car. I test drove a 07 Camry, 06 TL and 06 Accord. The TL won me over due to appearances. At first I had some trouble with rattling in glovebox, but it turned out to be two loose screws, probably from the dealership when they installed music link for iPod.

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  My TSX review - 2007 Acura TSX
  By PChan - January 4 - 8:38 pm

  This car is much more fun to drive than TL and IS. Very nimble. It takes corners like a sports car. I am very itchy to 0-60 mph but the delivery guy told me I have to take it easy for first 600 miles. Driver seat is very comfortable. Very bright Xenon lights. First 3 months XM radio service for free. Very simple dash board design layout. I am very happy with my purchase. Thanks Acura!

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  Never Sell - 2006 Acura TSX
  By Greg - January 4 - 6:01 pm

  Ive had the car for 9 months, and it is hands down the best car I have ever owned. I prefer it over even my fathers Cadillac STS, which I drive often, although, not as often as I used to. It handles like a sports car, with the room and comfort of a luxury auto. Shifting back and forth from automatic to manual allows for some fun, but spares the pain of using a clutch in the city. It has the best of both worlds, with awesome acceleration and great fuel economy... and this from a four cylinder engine. I couldnt be happier.

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  Love My Acura - 1998 Acura TL
  By Degruise - January 4 - 12:13 am

  This is my favorite car. Even when I see a car exactly like mine go by, I still stare at it because I feel like it is one of the most attractive styles ever made. It drives great, and I have only brought it in for regular maintenance such as oil, brakes and tires. It is the best running vehicle I have ever driven!

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  Techs Dream Car - 2004 Acura TL
  By Hayward, CA - January 3 - 10:00 am

  The sound system, navigation, and interior are superb, but best of all its has all the quality you would expect from an Acura/Honda. Almost bought the BMW 530, for 15k more with options that come standard on the TL and a mere 225 hp.

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  Best car I have ever owned. - 2004 Acura TL
  By Gannet - January 3 - 10:00 am

  Love it. No rattles. Best looking car on the road. No problem with tires. No problem with auto trans. Got the blue with camel interior. Havent seen another one like it on the road.